Urban Extraordinary Immortal Doctor
Chapter 1306: Despair

Chapter 1306: Chapter 1306: Despair

Shi Cheng did not wait for Fang Bai’s arrival, but was instead met with a shocking and despairing piece of bad news:

Golden Crow Manor was besieged by nearly thirty thousand elite disciples of Tianji Sect, led by several Elders and Stewards of the Sect. Manor Master Huang Canghai, leading the manor’s own disciples in resisting the attacks from Tianji Sect, had no opportunity to spare assistance.

The one who brought this bad news was one of the few disciples sent to rescue Golden Crow Manor. He returned heavily wounded and with his last ounce of strength conveyed the message before succumbing to his injuries, passing away with regret in his heart.

Shi Cheng stretched out his palms and closed the unyielding eyes of the disciple from Golden Crow Manor, took a deep breath with closed eyes, forcefully keeping his emotions from fluctuating too violently. Yet his slight trembling betrayed him.

"Ten thousand elite disciples here at the Essence Stone Vein, thirty thousand at Golden Crow Manor... The elite disciples of Tianji Sect have practically come out in full force... They want to exterminate Golden Crow Manor and then annex everything that belongs to the manor! Hah, such a big appetite, they’re not afraid of bursting their bellies!"

Shi Cheng muttered to himself, his eyes flashing with a cold glint, fists cracking "krak krak" with tension, his face twisted into a fearsome grimace.

Though he spoke in such a way, his heart kept sinking incessantly, as if plunging into an eternal icy cavern, shivering with cold.

Putting together information from various sources, Shi Cheng knew that Tianji Sect had come prepared and with premeditation.

As a Prominent Clan, Golden Crow Manor’s overall strength was not inferior to that of Tianji Sect, but having suffered heavy casualties defending the Essence Stone Mine’s entrance during a recent battle, half of Golden Crow Manor’s twenty thousand elite disciples were dead or injured, severely weakening their power. Facing an offensive from ten thousand elite disciples of the Tianji Sect, they simply could not contend.

If one were to liken the present Golden Crow Manor to a heavily burdened, extremely weakened camel, then Tianji Sect would undoubtedly be the final straw that breaks the camel’s back.

"With the enemy before us and reinforcements hopeless, our only choice is to fight to the death to defend the manor’s interests!"

Shi Cheng suddenly turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the thousands of Golden Crow Manor disciples gathered at the fortress, and he shouted sternly.

The elite disciples of Tianji Sect, ten thousand strong, surged from all around the fortress, completely cutting off all retreats, ready to totally annihilate the Golden Crow Manor disciples guarding the entrance to the Essence Stone Mine.

"Fight to the death!"

"Fight to the death!"

"Fight to the death!"

The thousands of Golden Crow Manor disciples, knowing that this battle was a matter of life and death, felt no fear; every single one of them, whether unharmed or wounded, stood tall and proud, roaring with all their might.

A plaintive air of resigned heroism enveloped every Golden Crow Manor disciple, some of them looking up at the rising sun, their expressions revealing a touch of reluctance, knowing that this might very well be the last time they saw the light.

"Attack!"

Seeing the disciples who rushed to the front already at the foot of the fortress, the Sect Master of Tianji Sect, Xuan Tianji, who was overseeing the battle from the rear, wore a cold smile as he gave the order to attack.

"Kill!"

The ten thousand elite disciples of Tianji Sect, upon hearing the command, brandished their Spiritual Artifacts and leaped forward, charging towards the Golden Crow Manor disciples guarding the fortress.

"Kill!"

Shi Cheng, with hair and beard bristling, his Killing Qi soaring to the skies, also let out a thunderous roar.

His voice, like muffled thunder, boomed in the ears of the thousands of Golden Crow Manor disciples.

"Kill!"

Thousands of disciples from Golden Crow Manor invigorated their spirits and, amidst thunderous roars, launched a fierce counterattack with sharp streams of essence energy, pouring out the rage and resentment in their hearts.

Though the disciples of Golden Crow Manor were few in number, each of them fought with the determination to stake their lives in a do-or-die battle. They managed to perform beyond their capabilities, and with the advantage of higher ground, they momentarily caused the complacent disciples of Tianji Sect to suffer greatly, with many casualties.

Thousands of blades and sword beams, condensed from golden essence energy, cleaved through the air with a resounding whoosh of metal, aimed at the disciples of Tianji Sect who had leapt into the sky for combat, causing the space around the fortress to undulate faintly.

Golden Crow Manor had just been dealt a heavy blow, besieged on all sides, and the disciples of Tianji Sect assumed that the disciples of the Golden Crow Manor had surely fallen into a state of pessimism and despair, expecting to easily cause their collapse with a single charge.

Yet it was precisely this arrogant and disdainful attitude that led to the bitter defeat of the disciples of Tianji Sect, who paid a significant price.

Although the thousands of elite disciples of Tianji Sect who had taken to the sky had formed defense qi shields around themselves, they hadn’t anticipated that the counterattack from the disciples of Golden Crow Manor would be so fierce and powerful.

Thousands of sword beams shaped from fire primordial qi wove together into life-claiming nets, with the unstoppable momentum to smash and pierce all obstacles, enveloping the Tianji Sect disciples who had leapt to a position parallel to the fortress.

Some of the stronger Tianji Sect disciples managed to resist the first, second, and even third waves of the sword net attacks, but they couldn’t withstand even more.

The continuously conjured sword nets tore through the defense qi shields of the Tianji Sect disciples again and again, eventually shattering them, and the resulting blades and sword beams struck down the unprotected disciples of Tianji Sect whether by slicing or piercing.

"Ah!"

"Ouch!"

"Help!"

"My leg has been chopped off!"

"Lost my left arm!"

...

Screams and cries of distress echoed around the fortress, with hundreds of Tianji Sect disciples either dead or injured under the cover of the sword nets, plummeting down and leaving a mist of blood spreading in the air.

The casualties among the hundreds of comrades dealt a significant blow to the morale of the other Tianji Sect disciples, who, for a moment, ceased their attack.

"A bunch of fools! Do not stop the assault, continue forward! Take the entrance to the Essence Stone Vein in one swift effort!"

Xuan Tianji, the Sect Master of Tianji Sect, commanding the rear of the twenty thousand elite disciples, cursed furiously as he saw the sect’s disciples falter and shrink back.

Under the command of Xuan Tianji and several high-ranking members of Tianji Sect, nearly ten thousand elite disciples reorganized their formation, discarding their contempt and launched an even more ferocious offensive without regard for the losses.

Although the disciples of Golden Crow Manor had initially gained the upper hand in the wave of counterattacks, it was only achieved through sheer bravery; it also immensely drained their essence energy, and thus their subsequent counterattacks lost the previous momentum.

However, those who were undaunted by death, each unleashed their potential, still staging a grand battle of attack and defense at the cost of one life for two.

But no amount of courage or fighting spirit could offset the vast disparity in strength and numbers.

Half a two-hour period later, the foundation of the fortress was piled with the bodies of Tianji Sect disciples, whereas the casualties of Golden Crow Manor’s disciples on the fortress had once again exceeded half.

"It’s over... We cannot hold the entrance to the Essence Stone Vein anymore..."

Shi Cheng looked at the fortress, with only two to three thousand disciples left able to fight, while the side of Tianji Sect had four to five times more than his own. His heart turned ice-cold to the extreme, as a feeling of despair rose within him.